Compared to Australia, where many did not want to publicly take sides or offer their personal point of view, the Novak Djokovic-US Open case provoked more reactions from the experts and from the tennis players themselves.
Public opinion has also been divided on this particular issue, but in recent weeks support and stances in favor of the former world number one have increased. What is the current situation? And what risk does the Serb run? At the moment, the only certainty is the Belgrade’s resignation from the first Masters 1000 of the year on cement in Montreal (in Canada), due to the anti-Covid regulations that prohibit him from entering the country in any way.
In the United States, where the same regulations are in force, the player’s staff and the athlete himself are waiting for a last-minute change by the government to allow the entry of unvaccinated foreigners into American territory.
Hopes are slim: if he fails, the 35-year-old will also be forced to withdraw from Cincinnati and the US Open, the last Grand Slam of the season in which he will be unable to defend the 1,200 points from last year’s final, which will mean a drop in the ATP ranking.
A very complicated situation for Djokovic, who is missing several prestigious appointments in 2022 due to his choice not to undergo any administration against Covid-19. The Australian John Millman, who had to withdraw from the Los Cabos tournament for testing positive for the virus, also defended him in these hours: “I’m out with Covid, just arrived in the United States.
It doesn’t seem like people have followed any recommendations or guidelines, which is fine, and as a result I don’t understand why Djokovic can’t come to play,” the player wondered, noting: “To be clear.
If the whole country followed the same rules, then I am totally in favor of imposing some entry vaccination requirements. However, from what I have seen, practically nobody does it, the tournament admits unvaccinated citizens and only 30% have the booster dose,” he added.
On Twitter, John Isner weighed in again on Nole’s case: “It’s completely insane that I can’t compete right now,” he noted.
Mouratoglou speaks about Djokovic
Esteemed coach Patrick Mouratoglou is of the opinion that Novak Djokovic is the best in the world when it comes to returning serves.
“He’s doing the split step either inside, so he can anticipate the serve on the T or outside, so he can anticipate the serve out wide,” Mouratoglou said. According to Mouratoglou, this anticipatory move while his opponents are serving enables Djokovic to gain a valuable edge when returning.
